Smut-machine.



J. L. owlzusg SMUT MACHINE.

(Application filed Mar. 11, 1901.

(No Mqdel.)

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I PatentB dMay IS, I902..-

Paten ted May l3, |902. J. L. OWENS. I S MUT MACHINE.

(Application filed Mar. 11, 1901.)

2 sheets-sheaf 2;

(No Model.)

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INVENTQR WITNESSES L Y H 0 A .B H

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UNITED STATES PATENT 4 OFFICE.

JOHN L. OWENS, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

SMUT-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 699,893, dated May 1 3, 1902.

Application filed March II 1901. Serial No. 50.582. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that 1, JOHN L. OWENS, of Minneapolis, Hennepin county, Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Smut-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Myinvention relates to machines [or cleaning wheat and other grain of smut.

The object of the invention is to provide a apparatus wherein wheat and other grain may be treated to kill the smut germs.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following detailed description.

The invention consists generally in various constructions and combinations, all as here inafter described, .and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a smut-machine embodying my Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a section on the line as of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a section on the line y y of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail showing the means for jarring or agitating the sieve trough or box.

In the drawings, 2 representsa casingsupported upon legs 3 and 4 and provided with a hopper 5, having an inclined floor or bottom 6. 7 is a discharge-opening in said hopper, which may be closed by a gate 8, operated by means of a bar 9, pivotally connected to a lever 10, that has one end inserted into an opening 11 in the wall of the casing. Vertical movement of the lever will raise or lower the gate 8 to open or close the hopperdischarge. Suitable guides may, if preferred,

be provided for the bar 9. Beneath the discharge-opening I provide a roll 12, having a covering 13, of felt or other suitable material. This roll coacts with a corresponding roll 14, having a similar felt or porous cover-' ing. The roll 14 is arranged above the roll 12, and its shaft 15 extends through slots 16 in the casing 2 and is connected to a bar 17, bolted to said casing and adapted to be put under tension by means of a bolt 18, passing through said bar near itspivotal connection to said casing. The bolt extends through a slat 19 on the casing and by means of nuts on its threaded end may be adjusted to regulate the tension of the spring-bar. The roll 14 will rest by gravity upon the roll 12, and its pressure thereon may be varied by'means of the spring-bar 17 and its connections. The shaft 20 on the roll 12 is provided with a pinion 21, meshing with a gear 22,.mounted on a stud 23. A'crank 24is provided on the gear 22 to enable the operator. to drive the rolls at any desired speed. Operation of the roll will by contact or friction operate the upper roll also, and the mouth or discharge of the hopper is in position to discharge the grain between the two r olls, so that as the rolls are revolved the grain will pass in a thin stream between themand owing to the yielding porous nature of the roll-covering will not be crushed or broken thereby.

The kernels of grain are frequently found covered with a coating of smut, and for the purpose of killingthesmut-germs I prefer to provide means for moistening the porous covering of the rolls with a chemical solution that coming in contact with the wheat or other grains will efiectually destroy all the smut-germs without injuring the grain. To this end I provide a tank 25, preferably cylindrical in form, resting upon suitable supports and clamped between the sides of the casing, preferably above the upper roll. This tank has a funnel 26 for filling purposes and in its bottom a discharge-opening 27, that communicates with a pipe 28, closed at its end by heads 29, and having a series of holes or perforations 30. A pipe 31, having its ends supported in slots 31 in the casing, is provided within the pipe 28, and has a hole 32, adapted to register with the hole 27 and a series of holes 33, that register with the discharge-holes 30. The pipe 31 fits snugly within the pipe 38, but may be freely rotated therein by means of a handle 34, or it may be drawn out and pushed in to shut off and turn oi the flow of liquid. Plugs 35 are provided within the pipe 31,closing the ends of the same. The liquid flowing out through the dischargeopening in the pipe will drop upon the porous coveringof the upper roll and be absorbed thereby. The moisturefrom theupper roll will be transmitted to the porous covering of the lower roll until both coverings become thoroughly saturated, so that when the thin stream of wheat or other grain passes between them the kernels will be thoroughly moistened or wet and the coating of smut penetrated by the chemical solution and the smut-germs destroyed. As the grain passes from between the rolls it will fall into a trough 36, sup ported upon pivots 37 and provided in its bottom with a sieve 38. A bar 39 is secured to the inner end of said trough in position to be engaged by a cam 40 on the shaft of the lower roll. As the roll is revolved the cam will strike the bar 39 and elevate the outer end of the trough. When the bar is released, the weight of the trough will return it to its normal position, and its sudden stop will produce a jarring effect that will shake the liquid out of the grain and break up any drops of liquid that there may be on the sieve, causing it to fall through the sieve into a receptacle provided beneath the same. The grain passing down the trough will be discharged into a suitable receptacle therefor.

I consider the arrangement of the porouscovered rolls and the tank as an important feature of my invention. By placing one of the rolls above the other the drippings from the tank that are not absorbed by the covering of the upper roll will be caught by that of the lower roll, and consequently very little, if any, of the solution will be wasted. The use of the sieve and the means for agitating the same enables me to shake the liquid out of the grain and preserve nearly all of the solution, which is returned to the tank for future use.

In operation, the hopper having been filled with grain and the tank with the desired chemical solution, the operator will rotate or draw out the pipe 31, so that its dischargeopenings will register with the corresponding openings in the upper pipe, allowing the liquid to flow through upon the porous covering of the upper roll. The liquid will be allowed to flow until the coverings of both rolls have been saturated, and then by raising the gate the operator will allow a thin stream of the grain to flow down between the rolls, and as the kernels pass between the contacting surfaces of the porous coverings each kernel will be thoroughly wet or moistened and the coatings of smut, should there be any on the kernels, will be penetrated by the solution and the germs of smut effectually destroyed. After leaving the rolls the grain will fall upon the bottom of the oscillating trough, and intermittently this trough will be jarred or shaken and the liquid separated from the grain and shook through the sieve into a receptacle beneath. As soon as the hopper or the tank has been emptied it may be refilled and the operation continued until the desired amount of grain has been cleaned. By means of the gear mechanism for operating the rolls I am able to revolve them rapidly and feed a large amount of grain between them in a comparatively short time.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. An apparatus for destroying sinutgerms, comprising contacting rolls arranged one above the other each having a yielding porous covering, means for driving said rolls, means fordeliveringa chemical solution upon the upper roll, the lower-roll covering being saturated by the drippings from the upper roll, and means for delivering grain in a thin sheet between said rolls, substantially as described.

2. An apparatus fordestroyingsmutgerms, comprising two rolls arranged one above the other and each provided with ayielding porous covering, means for driving the lower roll, the upper roll being in contact with the lower and driven thereby, means for delivering a chemical solution upon the surface of the upper roll to be absorbed by the covering thereof and by the covering of the lower roll, means for delivering grain in a thin stream between said rolls, a sieve to receive the grain from said rolls, and means for agitating said sieve, substantially as described and for the purpose specified.

3. An apparatusfordestroyingsmutgerms, comprising contacting rolls arranged one above the other, each having a yielding porous covering, means for driving said rolls, a tank supported above said rolls, telescoping members provided beneath said tank. and communicating therewith and each member having discharge-openings adapted to register and deliver the liquid in said tank upon the upper of said rolls, and means for delivering grain in a thin sheet between said rolls.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 5th day of March, 1901.

JOHN L. OWENS.

In presence of RICHARD PAUL, M. C; NOONAN. 

